Skip bins are a convenient and affordable waste removal solution in both commercial and residential environments. They come in numerous sizes and shapes designed to fit almost any task. The type of skip bin you choose depends on the amount and type of waste produced in your household.
Cheap mini skips (2 to 5 yard) are suitable for smaller jobs and are therefore more popular among domestic consumers. They come in handy when working on small home improvement projects such as kitchen redesign or garden clearance. Larger skips whose capacity ranges from 8 to 20 yards are ideal for commercial clients with moderate waste disposal needs. The extra-large 20 to 40 yards capacity skip bins are specially designed for industrial-sized jobs, check out your suppliers site for more information.
What waste can you throw into skips?
The items allowed into skip bins vary from one skip provider to another. As a general guide, most skip hire services accept domestic waste, wood, soil, rubble, organic waste, metal, plastic, furniture and cardboard. On the other hand, most skips do not allow electrical items, medical waste, chemicals, paints, fluorescent bulbs, compressed gas cylinders, tires and other hazardous waste (explosives, asbestos, etc.). Others allow plasterboard, but it should be placed separately, ideally in a plasterboard skip bag or in its own skip. It is important to understand what waste your skip hire provider allows to avoid fines that can result from breaching their terms of service.
A few tips for hiring skip bins
- Never hide prohibited waste in the middle of the skip bins. After collection, the skips are emptied so the waste can be sorted and recycled. Chances are that items that are not permitted will still be found during separation.
- You are solely responsible for waste disposed in your skip. For this reason, you should be mindful of unaccepted additions especially when placing the skip in an open, publicly accessible area.
- You can be fined for using a skip hire service that is not licensed. It is therefore important to check whether a skip hire provider has a valid waste carrier license before enlisting their service.
Saving money on skip hire services
Skips provide one of the cheapest and most effective ways of disposing waste. However, to receive the best deal, try out these money-saving tips.
- Instead of disposing usable items such as furniture (which are often bulky and space-consuming) in the skip, you can donate such items to charity or give away for recycling. This saves on space and potentially reduces the size of skip bin you require, thus saving you a couple of dollars.
- Always choose the correct size of skip to ensure you do not pay more while you could hire a smaller skip that serves you better, and at a cheaper cost.
- As with most payable services, It is important to request at least three quoted from different companies before settling on one skip provider. This does not mean you have to pick the cheapest company, but this should help you choose a skip provider that offers the kind of service you want at an affordable cost.